16 weeks to being ‘ Citius Altius Fortius’

Our class. A class apart.

“Read, Partha! READ!” my father would yell during my summer vacation. Being the English guru he is, he expected me to live up to his language skills. And being the little rebel, I was, would never read. Summer time was for fun. Not to read. And this was what differentiated English from being my ace in the hole from being my Achilles’ heel.  Allergic to reading, the only way I could learn was to practice writing by seeking inspiration from movies, TV-shows, song lyrics and also from my friends.  My only strengths were proper grammar, punctuation (since we are an English speaking family) and creative sentence and dialogue formation. (God bless the film industry) Through the course of the semester, I’ve learned how to organize my thoughts and sentences in the most efficient way so that they communicate across to the readers easily. Apart from my organization and arrangement skills, I also have improved when it came to forming simpler sentences, rather than long, wordy ones.

I would always come up with good points to support my argument. But due to my limited vocabulary, it has always been hard for me to express myself. Even when I come up with proper, creative sentences, they are either wordy or aren’t organized well enough in the passage. It has always been my habit (which I think I get from my father) to write long and complex sentences with many clauses in them when a particular scenario is being explained. And of course, I would lose the reader half way through the sentence. Keeping this in mind, I always divide the sentence into smaller ones, which is pretty much evident in all my works.  What I also really gained on was the organization of the content. I started splitting the large paragraphs into multiple small paragraphs and wrote more about them, in detail. For example, I made a whole new paragraph for the Joker (In the Movie review) as advised and described how Heath Ledger did a wonderful job of the role. I gave scene specific examples as to why that character was so appealing and also moved everything related to this character from different parts of the review into that one paragraph.

What also helped me organise my work better was the introduction of sub-headings, as evident in the Movie Review and the Rhetorical Analysis. As a writer, it really helped me know which part must be put where. After writing each paragraph under the subheading section, I could evaluate how it matched the theme of the sub-heading and then make appropriate changes (like adding more scene specific detail to show how it supported the argument or move out the irrelevant sentences into another paragraph of a more relevant section). This also helps the reader as he or she would know what to expect from that section of the review. Another fact that this class highlighted was the importance of an aesthetically appealing document. I was told to incorporate design into my writing to make the document look attractive; as it is this aspect that draws readers in. (This pretty much explains the snow falling on my page! )

Overall, I feel that this class has taught me how to organize my thoughts and jot them down into my writing in an orderly fashion. I was made aware of the importance of specificity and uniformity that an essay should have, and how this helps one become not only an effective writer but also a critical reader. With all that I’ve learnt, I think that I’ve become a better at communicating my argument or point across to the readers. Organizing my paragraphs, developing sentences and providing specific examples are something this class has imbibed in me, making me a much better writer than what I was before.

I was a little hesitant when it came to making a blog and posting my works online for the whole world to see. The idea of revealing my work to someone was never found to be intriguing by me. But since these works were professional, I did not mind! This move would actually give me the confidence to write more and present it to people. The constructive feedback received could be used for the better.

When my works went public, I was surprised to see all my peers enjoy my writing rather than criticize it. The creativity I brought into my writing was something that appealed to all of them. Almost all of them liked my Visual Narrative. Some because they liked the creativity, and some because they liked what I did with the pictures. My readers also greatly appreciated my metaphors and punch dialogues which I incorporated into my writing as they thought it drove my thought home.  Some even made suggestions as to not summarize a person’s argument when writing a reflection and this is something I will definitely keep in mind when I write a similar article.

It was really interesting and educative to go through my peers collections. I have learned a lot from each of them, whether it come to sentence formation, designing or organising. I have also taken the opportunity to give them constructive feedback which will help them think more and become better writers. (For example, I asked Kyle if or not he thought that Persepolis was rather fast paced even though it was a simple graphic novel) I have also preached across what I learned this semester. (For example- I told Gabe that his photo strip needs to be better organized for it to be understandable and also that it needs to be designed better)

As my Engineering Professor says, feedback is always constructive and one should look to work towards betterment by taking this feedback as positive criticism. And I think this is exactly what I am applying here. I am not only learning from my friends and giving them feedback from what I learned, but am taking their feedback to be the ‘Citius Altius Fortius’ Partha.

Scanning the Controversy

A passenger stands inside a full body scanner

Every day 1.8 million Americans travel via air across the country, and each individual must pass through security screening in order to take flight (“Traveler Information”). As of now, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) uses many forms of screening; from the old fashioned metal detectors and pat-downs, to high-tech full body scanners. However, for many people the more technologically advanced process is controversial and stressful. The truth is that body scanners play a key role in making air travel safer, less invasive and more efficient.

Better Safe than Sorry 

Advanced Imaging Technology has proven to be more effective than other traditional forms of airport security, such as pat downs or metal detectors. Unlike metal detectors, the scanners have the ability to find metal and nonmetal objects, such as firearms, contraband and explosives. Advanced Imaging Technology also trumps pat downs in that nothing can be concealed, no matter the thickness or style of clothing (“Advanced Imaging”).

Currently, the body scanners in airports use millimeter wave technology. When a passenger stands in the unit, two rotating transmitters emit a special type of microwave (Figure 1). The waves pass through the person’s clothing, and bounce off their skin, as well as objects that may be on them. The scanner then produces a general outline of the passenger’s body and sends it to an operation station to be inspected. If a suspicious object is found, a small box will be placed over the general area. The process takes less than 10 seconds, and is painless for the passenger (Harris).

It has been noted that the machines sometimes have trouble detecting low-density objects, as well as objects hidden inside bodily cavities. But it is important to realize that this technology is still relatively new, and is adapting. As former homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff said, “nothing is 100% [but] The more difficult you make it for someone to conceal weapons, the fewer people who are going to be willing or capable of concealment” (“Debate”). Last year alone, the TSA confiscated 1,556 firearms that were attempted to be brought on board. That number is expected to be surpassed in 2013, as 862 weapons have been seized within the first half of the year alone (Tierney).

Some people argue that loopholes will be found, and soon the body scanner system will be obsolete. Marc Thiessen uses a metaphor to explain why all airport security tactics are important. He says, “If a burglar wants to break into our homes, we all know he can bust through the window– but that does not mean we leave our front doors unlocked when we go to bed at night.” Advanced Imaging technology is just one part of a very broad and extensive security strategy that is making air travel safer.

It’s a Small Radiation After All

Signs posted outside full body scanners explaining the inspection process.

A common misconception about these lifesaving airport security scanners is that the radiations emitted by them are harmful and can damage the body in the long term. However, this is not true anymore. Before the use of millimeter wave scanners, a type of X-ray was used in a process called Backscatter. From switching to Backscatter X-rays to Millimeter wave scanners, the annual exposure to radiation was reduced. Backscatter X-ray machines transmit low-energy X-rays to reflect off of a passenger’s body whereas Millimeter wave scanners emit energy more similar to microwaves, which create a much lower effect on the skin and body than X-rays (Harris). The usage of Backscatter X-ray machines produces 2.7mSv of radiations dose in a person which is significantly higher than the safety limit of 1mSv. Contrastingly, the millimeter wave scanners are non-ionizing and produce much less energy. In 2012, more than seven hundred tests were conducted on these the scanning systems, all of which they passed, causing all of the Backscatter X-ray machines to be replaced with Millimeter wave scanners (“Airport Body Scanners”).

Apart from meeting all known national and international health and safety standards, these Millimeter wave scanners use 1000 times less energy than the international limits and guidelines, ensuring passengers that the usage is way within the safety limits and that their health is in no way endangered (“AIT: Safety”). This low emission of energy does not allow these systems to interfere with or damage our DNA. Using waves which have a very low frequency, the waves emitted by the machine pass right through our skin and can’t possibly harm our skin in any way or cause heating of the skin tissue. The only possible health hazard would be a burn that too, only if there is a glitch in the machine and if it malfunctions, the chances of which are very less.

Don’t Look At Me 

In order to make air travel safer, there is a give-and-take element. Controversies arise from the feeling of privacy violation at the price of a safe flight. One such issue arose in May of 2010, when a screener named Rolando Negrin attacked a coworker after the screening revealed his private parts and was insulted about them for months (“Are Passenger Screening” 79). The truth is that TSA’s airport security scanning method is actually increasing the safety of air travel. They are using screening images to discover potential threats such as underwear bombs like the one found on a Detroit-bound flight in 2009 (“Are Passenger Screening” 79). In reality, when people are being scanned, the person taking the photo is in a completely separate room and the picture is deleted right before the next person’s turn.

The millimeter scanner also contains “privacy algorithms” that alter an image’s resolution. Faces, chests, and groins are able to be blurred or otherwise concealed using the AIT program (Figure 2&3). Adjustments can be made depending on customer preference, but individual employees are prohibited from altering settings freely. Only top TSA officials have the power to make changes to the scanning policy (“Are Passenger Screening” 80-81). TSA chief John Pistole states that the body scanners are an “important role in the future of aviation security.” In order to protect the people, security has to be top notch and give the greatest scrutiny where it is most essential (“Are Passenger Screening” 80). The truth is that even if the TSA swears that the technology blocks immodest imagery, people should understand that these precautions could save their life one day.

Look, but Don’t Touch

Outline of passenger with privacy settings in place

If a passenger feels completely uncomfortable with going through the body scanners, they may consent to an intensive pat-down search instead. In order to keep the level of security constant, the physical investigation is quite thorough. Often times, passengers feel that the pat-down option is actually more invasive. As Marcia Zalbowitz stated, “During a recent trip, my “frisker” (I prefer to use the word “groper”) identified a suspicious object on my torso… she told her junior associate to allow me to proceed to my departure gate since the hard, pointed object was my rib” (“At the Airport”). In a pat down, the TSA employee must physically touches all parts of the passenger’s body. More attention is focused on areas where illegal objects may be concealed; even if those areas are considered private. These hands on pat downs can be performed on everyone, including children. But with the use of scanners, it prevents anyone’s rights from being violated. Some people have questioned whether the pat downs are random or the TSA agents choose who they want to pat down. Body scanners check every passenger, therefore preventing the possibility of racial profiling (“Debate”). In the case of a body scanner, the TSA agent, located in a different room, doesn’t physically touch or see the passenger. TSA agents look at three dimensional image created by the scanner. The image is created by the computer and is in no way an actual image of the passenger’s body parts.

Price to Pay

In today’s economy, the cost of security cannot be overstated. Yes, creating and maintaining an organization as vast and complicated as the TSA may be difficult. Yes, providing them with the tools they require to do their job will cost the taxpayers a sizable amount. But is it right to put monetary matters over the safety of the country’s citizens? The brand new generation of body scanners cost around $170,000 each; as of October 2012, there were over 800 of them currently in use in over 200 American airports (Smith). One might question the body scanner’s cost effectiveness based on these numbers alone. However, the price of saving people’s lives is not calculable. Some, like Anne Landman, question the usefulness of having body scanners in our airports. She argues, “Globally, the average international death rate from road accidents is about 390 times that from international terrorism… Terrorism is a small threat compared to the massive amount of resources being thrown at the perceived problem” (Landman). But this is a red herring; the amount of car accidents has nothing to do with the amount of terrorist attacks, nor is it relevant. Funding for airport security is very different from funding for car safety research.  Plus, airport screening procedures are not just trying to stop terrorist attacks, but other illegal activity such as contraband transportation.

Due to the public backlash over body scanners, TSA officials have attempted to develop a new way to spot potential threats: they call it Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques—also referred to as SPOT. This “replacement” for body scanners was started in 2007, and to date has cost almost $900 million in taxpayer money (Jenson). SPOT decreased the rate of random screening that occurred in airports, instead opting to keep tabs on “high risk” passengers. Unfortunately, the program is plagued by inherent flaws that lead to racial profiling and discrimination allegations. Many records that the TSA keeps on SPOT screenings fail to identify the officer involved. In the light of this, body scanners are the logical, fair, and most cost effective choice for our safety.

Advanced Imaging Technology has been changing the face of airport security since 2009. Over the past few years, misconceptions and false information has plagued the topic, and caused much controversy. These prejudices from the scanners early days continue to haunt the TSA and the general public. But scanners are not as evil as they are made out to be. They are designed to protect us from and to prevent mid-air mishaps from occurring. Passengers must sacrifice little in order to ensure this safety; privacy is not compromised and neither is health. And though the scanners may not be perfect, they are improving and helping us in the fight of air crime and defense.

Took off from home

THE STORY

Took off from home

I was sent to space (the moon) to investigate and study the behavior of a new element discovered. The element was like a virus, an intermediate in between living and non-living and the aggression it brought with it was lethal. If injected into or exposed to a human, it would make him a living monster. A monster that fed on its ‘predecessor’ human to live. Since studying this was highly risky, I was sent to a far off place to conduct research on it. While conducting research, I learned that this virus could not be terminated. It had no cure. Its only enemy was itself. In the sense, that the only way the virus could be terminated was if it was too much of it was present. This would kill the host body and the virus. And no host body could be killed with a gun or other physical forms of assault as this virus was regenerative and could repair any damage done to the host body.

While I studied about this deadly element far far away in space, the virus spread far and wide affecting all humans back home. Humans? I dare say not. Monsters seemed more apt. I came back down. But this wasn’t home. It was hell. And the only things that resided here were devils. All alone, with no hope, I sat depressed. I took off from home and never came back.

Memories of my families and friends haunted me. I dreamt of them almost every day and they’d tell me not to give up. But how could one human stand up against a countless number of monsters? The answer was simple. Hope.

In the name of freedom and revenge, I decided to take the battle to them. I looked all across the country and found a few people willing to be part of the ‘Resistance.’ Gathering all possible ammunition and having modifying it so that it would shoot “virus bullets” (because the only way to terminate the virus was to give it more power), we decided to take them on. We went all in, and fought for our loved ones that we lost, our freedom and our mother Earth. We gave it our everything and finally restored peace to our planet. Though this wasn’t the same place as ‘home’, like before, but it was all we had and I learned to live merrily with it. But no, it can never be ‘home.’

WHAT I DID WITH THE PICTURES

For the first title picture, I used the ‘Holga’ effect which makes the picture softer and fills it with more light. This was to give the feel of a warm and bright HOME. In the picture which says “This was it, the apocalypse” The flame overlay was used to make earth seem like hell, depicting fires raging everywhere.

To the picture which says “My world had ended”, I used the B&W along with a red flare, resembling death and fear. The picture which says “and they told me not to give up”, I used the partial filter. Though not very apparent, I also used the light painting effect which says Hope. This symbolizes that even though I was surrounded by evil, there was hope for me. In the picture where I take an oath to avenge my families death, I used to retro poster effect which made it seem like I was super human, the sun rays following my command. What I meant to portray was that Mother Nature was on my side in this war.

The picture that says “Recruited a Resistance” was put through an infrared effect. In the next picture, I used Kevin, which would make the situation look more ‘heated’. I also used the firework overlay.

To the picture showing the “monsters” burning, I increased the highlights to increase the effect of the background fire and also used a flame overlay.

I messed with a focus of the picture that says “& Home was not home again… but”. A small part was kept sharp and the rest was blurred indicating that home could not be recognized anymore. The second last picture of me and my friends was made bright, with starry flowers all over to symbolize joy and happiness.  The last picture was a natural picture taken by me at this year’s Diwali banquet. No filter. And the quote seemed perfectly apt for it.

Rhetorical Analysis of Born Into Brothels

                                                               

The Unbothered of a brothel

Working on lives behind the dark curtain of the brothel :

How hard do you think it is for kids born in red light areas to earn themselves a green card- a decent, respectable living in this harsh world? This is exactly what Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman show the world in their Oscar winning documentary Born into Brothels (2004). Zana journeys to Calcutta to learn about the life of prostitutes and the inhumane living conditions in Sonagachi, Asia’s largest red light area which houses around eleven thousand sex workers. But because of her love for kids, she ends up teaching the children born in these areas how to photograph and work towards the betterment of their life by helping them getting into boarding schools as nobody else cared about their future. This would help them escape the horrid “line” and start a new life, away from the brothel.

Through this documentary,  Zana and Ross seek to spread awareness about the malignant living conditions in these red light areas and how people are indifferent in their attitude towards the education and bringing up of children born in these areas. Influencing common man and public into introducing reforms for the benefit of these children was also one of their main motives.

The use of contrasting visuals and emotion appealing scenes (pathos) are evident, indicating that this documentary was intended to be directed towards the public, to move them and demand them to work for the good of these innocent children. Zana also uses her ethos(credibility) to address the audience as it her first-hand experience. She even shows real time footages of the happenings in this place. This documentary is a great example of how emotion and credibility can be used to appeal to masses and demand them to work towards the betterment of the society.

Zana Briski working with the kids, teaching them photography(below)

 

Heart tearing, eye ‘tear’-ing (Appeal to Pathos):

Being a documentary based on children, the author has appealed to the greatest amount of emotion possible. Zana shows footages of how the children have been tormented by their prostitute mothers and step fathers.  They are not only forced to do all the labour work at this young age but even their fate of being part of “the line” has also been written by their predecessors. Zana “Auntie” then shows videos of how these bright ‘red’ students enjoy themselves while using the camera and during the excursions they are taken to. Such contrasting footages arouse feelings of sadness and remorse in the audience which quickly transit into feelings of joy and hope. The music too, complements the visuals, and helps set the tone and context of the plot just like a good desert complements a heavy main course.

This documentary is very fast paced showing scenes of the children crying and getting beaten up by their parents at one instance and the same children running around the beach and having the time of their life at the next. Through these striking, contrary scenes, Zana and Ross portray that these children have great potential not only in their photography skills but also in their true lives as they can develop to be something bigger than what anybody could have ever imagined!

Zana and Ross do a very good job with the direction of this documentary as well. Close ups of  sad faces and narration of the depressing incidents set a very gloomy tone while close ups of overwhelming expression of the kids fill the viewer’s heart with delight.

Children being tormented by their elders(above) contrasting to the children having fun at the beach and with the camera(below)

Experience talks (Appeal to Ethos):

To make the audience have faith in her and trust her facts and arguments, Zana uses her credibility, which she obtains by living in India. Zana knew that she wouldn’t be able to learn about Sonagachi by being a visitor and hence decided to live in India and adapt to the local, busy city life. Using this experience of hers, she addresses the complexity of the problem.

Videos in which the children talk about their problems, their aspirations and how they feel about their family are shown which help the audience analyse and understand the situation of these children. Footages of the family of the children sharing their views and listing their constraints about Zana’s plan for the children are also displayed. These help the viewer discern the general mind set of the residents of this red light area.

The good moral character of Zana and the expression of good also helps the audience connect with Zana as they understand that what she is doing for the children is for their own good and helps them escape that hell hole. Zana tries very hard to persuade the parents and other relatives to let the children go to boarding school. She also works very hard to find these children an appropriate school and does the whole application process for them.

Sometimes, she forced the children into doing something against their will as was in the case of Avijit, as she knew that going abroad for a photography exhibition would only do his situation a world of good. Such virtuous and charitable acts could only lead audience into believing that Zana was doing this out of a good heart, with no aim of profit or fame.

Being a photographer, Zana uses her skills to identify and sort out the good pictures taken by the children and present them to the viewers. This makes the audience believe that the children actually have artistic potential and can harness their talent to earn themselves a life worth living.

Def(y)ining Logic(Appeal To Logos):

Although this documentary appeals mostly to pathos and ethos, we cannot say that it does not use logic, reason, or values to connect with the audience. The basic theme of the documentary considers the audience to be against the act of prostitution and a promoter of child rights.

Zana shows how the families of these children were so stuck up on the idea of making these children continue their ‘legacy’, that they were against the idea of sending their kids to boarding school, even though they didn’t have to work towards it.  The logic of the parents was something unique and was inarguably something that wouldn’t match the logic or value of the viewers.(Which parents wouldn’t want their child do have a bright future?!)  This way, Zana and Ross appeal to the logic of the viewers by displaying the contrasting logic and values of the parents of these children.

The Bright Green Aftermath:          

With such heart touching content, it was no surprise that this documentary was discussed about all around the globe. On a personal note, I would like to say that this documentary did manage to melt my heart. The extensive use of pathos made almost everyone who watched this documentary shed a tear. This documentary spread far and wide like a forest fire, all across India and created mass awareness by reaching millions of responsible citizens leading to introduction of various reforms for child life betterment. The credibility used by Zana and Ross appealed to most of the public as the circumstantial situations depicted in the documentary were something that everybody could relate to.

Winning the Academy Award for that year was a forgone conclusion, even though there was no acting in any part of the time movie! Only and only real time footages were shown. And hence, I will abide by what I said before that this documentary appeals to the general public through the crafted and genius use of rhetorical devices like pathos, ethos and logos.  The aftermath of this movie in India showed that the human race is progressing towards restoring humanity within themselves after all.

The Movie:

References:

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Born-Into-Brothels-Rhetorical-Analysis-1230563.html

Deus Ex by Rob Spence: Analyzing Rhetorical Content

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) is a documentary that informs the audience about how technology has helped develop gadgets and other chips which are used by physically disabled people. This documentary has been created by Rob Spence, yet another disabled person using these technologies who fancies being called ‘Eyeborg’. He travels the world to meet physically challenged people sharing similar technology as him and learn from them about their working. Keeping the character and special powers of Adam from the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution in mind, Rob Spence seeks to compare how far away human technology is from producing cyborgs like Adam.

Rob Spence appeals greatly to ethos and talks using authority and experience. He talks about his prosthetic eye and also backs up his explanation with experience. Apart from this, he also shows footages of Miika Terho, who talks about his experience with the retina chip and it’s vision, Joseph Junke, the CEO of the company developing fire-fighter masks which uses the same visionary technology as Adam’s eye, Jason Henderson and Keiron McCammon about their bionic arms and how much power it gives to them, Staff Sgt. Heath Calhoun about his prosthetic legs and it’s working, David Jonsson, a user and manufacturer of the power knee and how far it has gotten to over-human capabilities. The details of the working of the model, it’s limitations, it’s advantages and it’s scope for the future are all talked about in every case study.

Rob Spence also backs up his statements by appealing to logos, showing footages of the working of each of the device or prosthetic model which would otherwise defy the audience of their common sense. Though they do not explain everything in detail, they give the viewer a brief over view so that it is believable and isn’t classified as science fiction! In the end, he also talks about how these prosthetic developments maybe against medical ethics, hence appealing to the values and beliefs of the viewers.

Though Rob Spence does not appeal directly to pathos, he kind of hints towards it by showing how these disabled people actually use the prevailing technology to ‘live happily with their misery’, which tickles the viewer into joy.

This documentary not only provides us with astonishing information, but also makes it seems like human technology revolution isn’t far away from creating realistic human cyborgs like the virtual Adam. The various people talking about their technologies are proof of human advancement in this field of study.

Link to Deus Ex: Human Revolution-PAX2011:-

Reflection on Damsels in Distress by Anita Sarkeesian

In the Damsel in Distress videos, Sarkeesian argues about how “women disempowerment” is all over the video games. She states that it has become a trend to make the women a victim, showing her helplessness and making a man (the protagonist) save her, which just adds insult to injury. She shows how man, the hero, saves his loved once from the evil kidnapper or how taking revenge for the death of his loved one has become a very common stereotype. She further goes on to argue how, in the end, after all the trouble the hero has taken, the woman(his loved one) asks him to kill her. This just shows how women mock their helplessness and the whole storyline of the game.

In another video, she portrays how video games in which the damsel is depicted as the protagonist is simply just a mock, like in the case of Princess Peach saving Mario using her ‘mood swing super power.’ Other hilarious cases include the saved princess turning into a clown in the end of the game, or a monster which eats up the protagonist. Sarkeesian also talks about a few video games which do nothing but insult the victimized princess, as in the case of ‘Fat Princess’ or ‘Throw the Princess’.

I do agree with the video in most of the cases. Women are being used as a figure to trigger emotions into the character and the player. Anger or sadness, the answer is violence.  The twist in the tale in a few games, where the hero has to kill the loved one he has come to save, just shows how violent and dis-heartening such video games turn out to be. They do nothing but encourage men to raise their hands against innocent women for no rhyme or reason. The mockery of the female trying to be the protagonist is nothing but insulting to a woman.

However, I do disagree when she states that the sadness experienced by the gamer after the death of the woman character is because of the loss of manliness of the hero and the main aim is to not avenge his loved one’s death but to regain his manliness. This is absolutely not true. The whole point of using the traumatizing women is to develop an atmosphere of remorse and ignite a feeling of pity. Not for the loss of manliness but for the loss of the life. The basic storyline is based on the plot of how the protagonist uses his love to fight his way through the injustice he has been served. Hence, I find this argument very irrelevant.

‘Beyond: Two soles’ and  ‘Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII’ are two games where women characters take the centre stage. Both these games are where women fight evil single handed. I mean who won’t like a game with an attractive, tough young lady?

On a scale of one to five, I’d probably give these videos a 4.5.

Link to the videos:

Reflection on Dan Brown’s Open Letter to Educators

Dan Brown’s main argument is that institutional education has not been able to cope with the new technology of the information age. Dan starts off his argument by stating how school, colleges and universities have helped learning over the past 100 years. He does not take away from these institutions that they have played an important role in development of human development and learning for the past few decades, which is very much true.

Dan, then talks about information and it’s trend over the centuries. He states that back in the day of kingdoms and dictatorship, information was something available only to the ruling class. He then moves into saying that at a later time in history, information was accessible to anyone who could afford it and was willing to buy it. What he tries to convey is that the general trend of the cost of information has been decreasing, and now, with the internet, is almost ZERO. This is something that all of us can relate to. A click on the search button in ‘Google’ fetches us the information we have been looking for. Like Dan, I agree that this is probably the best thing that has happened to humanity as the cost of enlightenment has become ZERO. The information age has made collecting useful data free and more importantly very convenient.

Dan later goes on to address how each society has made changes to adapt to this new revolutionary change by taking the examples of iTunes, Google and Government transparency. This is something that I have to agree with. Google and iTunes are two softwares that I, and probably 80% of the rest of the cyber world use in their life on a daily basis. Contrastingly, he questions the audience about how education has adapted to the change. And of course, apart from the fact that projects and homework is now submitted online, there is nothing new to talk or think about and this is exactly what Dan points out in his justification of institutions becoming obsolete in their education. He continues his argument by appealing to ethos and sharing his own college story of how the lectures taught him nothing but facts. Facts that could be found online and learned for free. This put him off so much that he went to the extent of dropping out of school. Dan’s argument contains many points that we can relate to. However, I feel that the whole point of a college is to push these facts into a student. The same information can be found online, but will it be presented to us and taught to us in the same way that it is in universities? Will the atmosphere and understanding of the subject be the same? Will the student be motivated enough to learn all these on their own? Personally, it wouldn’t suit me. I would never choose to study on my own over learning from universities where wise professors teach it into us in an organised way, helping us develop into a sky skyscraper, one floor at a time.

Dan Brown’s Open Letter to Educators:

Reading Reflection on Persopolis

Persepolis is a very touching graphic novel.  It shows how a small girl finds her way to becoming a wise young woman through all the political, social and religious chaos during her time. The courage showed by Marjane to the right thing even though it was considered wrong by society and could lead to her death. This story portrays how a young, courageous dreamer was kept to ground by her parents, and how they, together as a family, fought their way through life.

This story also portrays how important parental guidance is to a child. Apart from imbibing within her basic morals, the bringing up of a child shows determines her basic thinking. Marjane was always a dreamer and would sometime go to the extent of making herself the next prophet. She would also have these imaginary talks with god, which were more like self-debates, pulling her into a dream from the world of reality. But her parents made sure that she was always in control. Whenever she’d mention that she wanted to be part of the demonstration, she’d immediately be shut down by her parents. Apart from making sure that she was learning, they would also clarify her misconceptions about certain things like the history of Reza and how he was different from other leaders and why what he was doing was wrong. Her grandmother also kept her engaged but telling her stories of her past and how the Evil Reza tried to ruin her grandfather and the empire just to take over the throne. How much ever Marjane liked or wanted to fly, her family always made sure that she had her feet planted on the ground.

Just like how her uncle and her father would have an intense political conversation which was confusing for Marjane to understand, I too got confused by the politics and story sequence of this ‘auto-biography’. This graphic novel is very fast paced and it became very hard for me to catch the storyline, the plot, the role of characters like Mohsen, Siamak, her uncle Anoosh and Mehri. Some parts of the story weren’t well connected to the central theme like in the case of Mehri’s love. Everything moved so fast, and since it was a graphic novel, there wasn’t an explanation for any of it. The story played around loosely with time and space.

The fact that the story was narrated by a child made it more appealing as it established pathos. If this was just an adult talking about his past, people like me wouldn’t even bother looking at the book. Pitying the child and journeying her life while she narrated the story would make one imagine himself in her place and this sure makes one think about the difficulties encountered by Marjane, drawing him into the book.

The bright side of ‘The Dark Knight’

ALL HAIL THE DARK KNIGHT

Do you fear the dark of the night? Well, you don’t have to anymore because The Dark Knight is here! ‘The Dark Knight’ is the second movie of the Batman Trilogy, a sequel to ‘Batman Begins’. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this super-hero thriller stars Christian Bale(Batman), Heath Ledger (The Joker), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), Micheal Caine (Alfred) and Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon) “The Dark Knight” is a mixed genre movie as it reflects various rhetorical situations in different ways. Arguably one of the best movies of the year 2008, this movie deserves all of the international fame it receives. A must watch movie that excels in all aspects, be it acting, direction, cinematography or sound effects.

WELCOME TO THE NEW GOTHAM CITY

After taking up the mantle of fighting crime in ‘Batman Begins’, Batman devotes himself to the job of seeking means to fight injustice. With the help of Inspector Jim Gordon and the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent and his new agenda, Batman works towards a zero crime rate Gotham City.

The Batman, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent working on a corruption free Gotham City

However, this lasts only until The Joker steps into action. This pyromaniac, “Just wants to watch the world burn”. The way he bombards buildings, robs banks, and kills people mercilessly displays his pure psychotic evil. Moreover, he burns the money he robs, which just defies the logic of crime! The war between the Joker and Batman goes on pretty interestingly until The Joker kills Rachael Dawes (Harvey Dent’s girlfriend and Bruce Wayne’s ex) and ‘The good Harvey Dent’. The loss of his loved one and half his face drives Harvey crazy and taking advantage of this vulnerable Harvey, the Joker corrupts his mind and forces him into becoming ‘The Black Knight’ from ‘The White Knight’.  Harvey, being the district attorney, has the whole city’s trust invested in him and if the news of his bad deeds reaches the streets, all the captured criminals would be back on the street again as his plan would revoke. But the noble Batman wouldn’t let his city go back to the dogs. He saves the city from the depths of hell once again. It’s ironic how the “Dark Knight” is actually the saviour, the “Joker”, the one with the sadistic pleasure and “The White Knight”, the destructor.

The Joker burning the money he robbed.

 

 THE SOURCE OF AWESOMENESS

The main strength of the movie is how Christopher Nolan portrays the serious storyline and interesting plot. The storyline and plot is much more serious when compared to the usual superhero movies which make this movie much more realistic than the others. Rather than just depicting a stereotype where a man in a funny suit beats up the bad guys, this movie has a livelier and life-like plot which enhances the experience of the movie. Very interestingly, this movie deals more with critical reasoning and logical thinking as compared to the other superhero movies which deal more with fighting and action. The mind games played by the Joker in the movie not only manage to boggle the mind of the other characters but also leave the audience in awe. The twist in the tale in the form of Harvey Dent adds spice to an already spiced up story, making this movie tastier for the audience.

 

The Joker was so awesome that..

The brilliance brought to stage by Heath Ledger playing the role of The Joker, alone, is good enough for the audience to fall in love with the movie. You know how awesome Heath Ledger is when everyone loves the pyromaniac /psychopath character he plays, as much as they love the Batman. The way The Joker handles tough and life threatening situations with a cool mind is something that blows one’s mind. What further complements this, are the expressions shown and composure maintained by Heath Ledger when acting these scenes out. The evil laugh when you’re falling off from a sky scraper and the slithering of the tongue when dialogues like “Why so serious?” are delivered is simply tremendous and do nothing but drop the audience’s jaw. No surprise that he won the Oscar for the best act in a negative role for this movie.

The Joker’s all famous “Why so serious? Let’s put a smile on that face.”

 

Catchy dialogues like “You either die a hero or live long enough to watch yourself become the villain” and goose bump giving epilogues which make this sequel much more than a movie, a source of inspiration for millions of people, including me. The gadgets and automobiles like the Tumbler and the Bat-Pod used as props are something that the teenage boys and automobile lovers must watch out for! Apart from the noteworthy acts of Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, this movie wouldn’t be any good without the legendary sound play of Hans Zimmer. The playback and background sound enhance the wonderful cinematography and graphics making the action scenes and screenplay of the sports cars, fights and gun battles very visually appealing.

WEAKNESS

The only weakness I thought of was the complexity of the story when it came to the mob, The Joker and Mr. Lau. The whole inter-relation between these evil entities is vague and at some point, the viewer will tend to struggle with catching the storyline. It took me a couple of views to understand the whole saga and I’m sure that most of the audience would be confused by it when they watch it for the first time too.  At one moment, you see Mr. Lau in Gotham City and the next, you see him in HongKong, with the Batman tailing him! WHAT?!?!

WHEN YOU SEE IT

All in all, I believe that is in fact one of the best movies of the year 2008, a perfect combination of all the genres in just the right amount. A MUST WATCH SUPERHERO THRILLER! As the joker loved to say, “The Batman completed him”, and together, they completed the movie. If you’re watching it, let me tell warn you, “Oh boy, you are in for a show tonight, son!” And when you do, you’ll be disappointed that “The Dark Knight” is ranked the sixth best movie of all time and not first!

Pick your side.

Reflection on Review of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ By Tom Charity

Response to Review: ‘Dark Knight Rises’ disappointingly clunky, bombastic  By Tom Charity, Special to CNN

                                         

The author of the review, in the very first paragraph, makes it clear that he had high expectations from Nolan and the movie, and also that he was disappointed that it didn’t live up to his expectations by saying “I only wish I could say I enjoyed this big, sprawling beast of a movie.” It is understandable that a lot can be expected from a movie made by Nolan due to his excellent reputation, but you have to agree that there wasn’t much room for improvement after “The Dark Knight” was made.

The review states that this movie has been “overtly fixated on terrorism” and is written in a tone as to imply that there was too much deliberate destruction. But what else can one expect from a Super-hero movie? The whole purpose of a super-hero movie is that there is a bad guy who destroys everything for nothing  or his own stupid reason and then there’s a good guy(Batman in this case) who would give up anything, including his life, to prevent further destruction and put an end to the terrorism. Agreed that the 9/11 subtext is explicit here, but how else would one portray a man living in a “cave” somewhere far away from Gotham City(Chiacgo)?

However, the author is absolutely right about how apt the beautiful Anne Hathaway was for the role of Selina Kyle, who is the movie’s best idea of fun. The movie is an all serious drama and little more humour and a few light-hearted scenes would do this movie a world of good. I also agree with him about how the movie misses the action of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle for huge intervals and focusses more on the Destructinator, Bane, and his activities. At this point of time, the movie does get a little boring and the viewer tends to get restless. But all is gone, when the Knight rises! The tech specs like cinematography, graphics and sounds enhance the special effects of the battle making the fight and action scenes simply splendid, compensating for the stretched boring period of the movie.

I’d also have to agree with the author of the review when he says, “It’s dismaying how often Nolan falls back on crude parallel editing and flashbacks, how loosely he plays with space and time in a climax that rings more than a little hollow in its efforts to circle back to “Batman Begins.” because the reason for and cause of the appearance of Ras Al Ghul in this movie seems very absurd and vague.

However, contrasting to the author’s views, I believe that Nolan would have to bite off more than what he can chew to pull off a movie that would have to further raise the standards of the Dark Knight trilogy. The high bar set by “The Dark Knight” could only be raised by an overambitious approach and though Nolan didn’t make it all the way to the top, he did do a good job to not let expectations crash and maintain the standard of the “superior” trilogy. No, this isn’t Nolan’s worst and biggest movie, but certainly was his biggest movie due to all the hype after the previous Batman movie and expectations after his previous movie “Inception” and it did turn out to be a great one but certainly not as great as “The Dark Knight”.

Link to Review:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/19/showbiz/movies/The Review by Tom Charity